Cover Story
As economic growth languishes and worries about the specter of deflation mount, much-needed infrastructure development and new sources of project financing could provide a panacea to global growth.

It is essential for companies to work with banking partners they know they can trust. Global Finance’s annual ranking of World’s Safest Banks have been the recognized and trusted standard of financial counterparty safety for more than 20 years.

This year, we updated the name of the awards to reflect the extent to which digitization is transforming our lives in general and banking in particular. By renaming this as the Digital Bank Awards, we are making the competition more inclusive of current technology and more future-focused in anticipation of developments still to come.

Brazil | Newsmakers
Joaquim Levy, Brazil’s newly appointed minister of Finance, will need to muster all his skills to navigate the rough waters of Brazilian domestic politics and restore the public budget surplus that made the country a darling of Wall Street investors.

Corporate Debt | Capital Markets
Euroclear will extend its cross-border settlement services at the end of January to Mexican corporate debt instruments known as cebures, or “bourse certificates.” This will enable Mexican companies to issue peso-denominated debt specifically targeted to international investors.

Latin America | Emerging Markets Regional Review
After years of strong growth, many key markets in Latin America are faltering. Although overall the region is no longer producing the high growth it once did, a number of markets continue to rise to new heights.

Corporate Tax | Management
Approximately 500 American companies operate in Argentina—but on November 3 that number abruptly decreased by one as the country’s tax authority, the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) revoked the company’s registration, accusing P&G of tax and accounting fraud.

Newsmakers | Argentina
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in early October triggered the resignation of the head of the country’s central bank, Juan Carlos Fabrega, by criticizing him for not reducing manipulation of the country’s currency. His replacement, Alejandro Vanoli, formerly the head of the country’s securities regulator, CNV, doesn’t look likely to set Argentina on a better path.

Milestones | Colombia
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a relatively small club of 34 countries. It seeks long-term social and economic development through data collection, analysis and discussions.

MILESTONES | LATIN AMERICA
In Latin America, the outlook for private equity and venture capital remains bright. Despite a 10% fall in investments during the first half of 2014, local and global players increased the amount of funds raised.

ARGENTINA
The aftermath of Argentina’s so-called default on July 31 doesn’t at all resemble the catastrophe accompanying its earlier default in 2002, when the country was unable to repay $100 billion of debt and the economy collapsed, costing millions of jobs.